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" Lo specchio della Moda" di Cecil Beaton

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Marisa Berenson by Cecil Beaton 1971

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Cecil Beaton, New York Impressions, 1937. Pen and ink and wash with collage.

Beaton loved New York, where he was accepted into the artistic avant-garde and was much in demand as a photographer. This drawing illustrated Cecil Beaton’s Scrapbook (1937), a collection of essays, photographs, and drawings recording recent travels, people and experiences. The following year he recorded further impressions in Cecil Beaton’s New York.

Photo & text: National Portrait Gallery (UK)

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Illustrator Cecil Beaton

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Finishing touches at the collections, including the Schiaparelli’s news prints and glass fan.

Artwork by Cecil Beaton, Vogue, April 1, 1935

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A.H. Fish and Cecil Beaton illustrations, 1920s

Top, A.H. Fish illustration, 1925.

On the building it's written "Abdomen Allah," and "Turkish Baths," "Entering the door on the left of Abdomen Allah, the latest fashionable building, we see an impressive female clientèle going for the baths, the Turkish baths, the steam baths, the massages, and other tortures prescribed by the terrible Turkish regimen. Observe that the ladies look like five of the most well-fed Ottomans of the Roman Empire. But wait… Incredible as it may seem, the quintet of Vogue mannequins you see exiting on the right are the same monumental matrons that, on the left, used to occupy much more than their fair share of tridimensional space. And the baths accomplished this miracle. Now they will be able to face their dressmakers with their heads held up high and fit inside small sized dresses without ignominy, shame, or rubber girdles."

Bottom, Cecil Beaton illustration, 1927.

Scanned from Bronwen Meredith's "Vogue Body and Beauty Book" 1977.

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Vogue cover by Cecil Beaton, 1935

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This Edwardian-style gown was created for the Ascot scene in the original 1956 Broadway production of the Lerner and Loewe musical My Fair Lady. The scene was filled with beautiful gowns, all in black and white, in keeping with the famous “Black Ascot” of 1910, when King Edward VII died shortly before the event, making it inappropriate to wear color. Thus, those who attended wore all black, aside from accents of white from pearls and flowers.

The gown was designed by Cecil Beaton and executed by Helene Pons based on his sketches. The cream crepe dress has black velvet stripes and an embroidered lace bib. The photo above most likely shows actress Melisande Congdon in the costume, as she performed in the play for three years.

When Truman Capote decided to throw his famous “Black and White Ball,” – he used the scene from My Fair Lady as its inspiration. Deborah Davis’ wonderful book The Party of the Century mentions that much of the gossip about town was about “who” everyone would wear. Amanda Carter Burden, daughter of Babe Paley, was able to sidestep this conversation and not commit to any one designer when she chose a gown from the film My Fair Lady. A drawing of Amanda in costume, sketched by Kenneth Paul Block, appeared on the front page of Women’s Wear Daily.

But was her gown from the film adaptation of My Fair Lady? Amanda was based in New York City, and it would have been far easier for her to obtain one of the costumes from the Broadway show.

In addition, no costume in the film accurately matches the one she wore to the ball. There is one that is similar and clearly based on the same design, but it appears to be a different piece.

In 2015, the dress from the Broadway production went up for sale, where it sold for $1280. It contains a lace dickey that the auction house noted has been added post-production. The dickey is clearly visible on Amanda Carter in the Black and White Ball photo. While I cannot confirm for certain that she is wearing the dress from the stage production rather than the film production, I am confident that she is.

Costume Credit: Katie S.

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Garbo sent her handwritten “proposal” to Noël Coward:

Dear Little Coward, Received your very loved, small and tiny letter. Dear person it almost makes me wish the newspapers in this country was right. I am so dreadfully fond of you, that I wish I could forget you. Can’t think of anything more terrific than to fall in love with you. Eternaly (can’t spell) occupied as you are and in need of absolutely no one and looking forward to splendid lonelyness (?) completely immune to any female charm!! Well, this might be an English lesson anyhow I take the opportunity to ask if you will be my little bride—(it’s Leap Year you know). Don’t accept please, I would have to come and get you right away.

How you must dislike my writing this way—but—that fluttering, tired and sad heart of mine has been in such peculiar state since a few weeks ago, but I don’t suppose I know you well enough to go into that too much.

I have a very humble wish that you would write a story for me (us), if you ever have time from the theatre. I can’t beg you any harder, as you will do as fits you anyhow—naturally. Besides that I would like, horribly I think, to go on dusty roads with you and tell you little fairy tales—beautiful ones about solitary figures living in white castles on top of moonlit mountains (permanent moonlight). And as finish I must tell you that what I really would like to tell you I haven’t told—Darling, you are so “flippantly” serious.

Greta Garbo photographed by Cecil Beaton c. 1946